I remember buying cinder toffee from Darwen market with my Grandpa when I was little – the stuff there was chocolate coated, which you could do with this homemade version too. To stop the cinder toffee melting, the easiest way to do this is by drizzling melted chocolate over the set toffee. Both the cinder...

These golden sweetcorn fritters are a real crowd-pleaser and are the recipe most often requested by Marc! The crispy batter, juicy sweetcorn and hit of chilli is a match made in heaven.They’re also really easy to make and work well for canapes, starters or even breakfasts. Sold yet? Go on, give them a go. Guarantee...

You just can’t beat a pie on cold winter’s evening. This one is particularly seasonal, with chestnuts and mushrooms making up the filling. It’s also quite hearty and I guarantee it will appeal to veggies and carnivores alike (the Committed Carnivore said he’d like to eat it every day!). I recommend using ready-made puff pastry...

What: Fire & Stone, Italian restaurant chain Where: 31 – 32 Maiden Ln, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4BF When: 5.12.11 Price: Quite reasonable Rating: 3 stars Fire and Stone has five restaurants, (three in London, one in Portsmouth and one in Oxford), with the Covent Garden branch being the flagship restaurant. This is not a cosy...

This is a fresh, lively salad recipe, with a Vietnamese feel to it. It’s perfect for a light lunch, or would also work well as a starter. Ingredients (Serves 2 generous main courses): 1x 375g packet thin rice noodles, pre-cooked (in the fridge section of supermarket) 180g pack cooked & peeled tiger prawns, cut in...

I’ve been doing some research into the difference between a meringue and a pavlova. Opinion seems to be split, so I’m not entirely clear… Some say that the difference is that a meringue is solid and dry throughout, whereas a pavlova is crisp on the outside and squidgy in the middle. In which case, these...

Vietnamese summer rolls are fresh and light, filled with aromatic herbs – making them perfect for the hot (ish!) weather. Oh, and unlike spring rolls (are there such things as winter or autumn rolls I wonder?), they aren’t fried, but served cold. These do take a little bit of time to make, mainly because rolling...

When I was little, I loved Roald Dahl books and the BFG was probably my favourite. If you’ve read it, you’ll remember that the BFG lived on snozzcumbers, which to me sounded pretty much like courgettes. Mainly because I thought courgettes were vile. Fast forward a couple of years (/decades) and I actually rather like...

People always seem horrified when they find out they’ve inadvertently invited a vegetarian to a bbq. Fret not though carnivore hosts, these halloumi kebabs are a real crowd pleaser – make these and any veggies in your life will love you forever. Promise! Watch out though, meat eaters seem to be rather keen on them...